EPISODE · Jun 21, 2026 · 29 MIN
How High Can We Really Build?
from My Weird Prompts
What keeps skyscrapers standing, what limits their height, and does a fully vertical city actually change the geology beneath it? This episode dives into the material science and structural engineering behind the global skyscraper boom — from Bessemer steel and tuned mass dampers to the self-weight problem that caps concrete towers at roughly one mile. Plus: why elevator ropes fail above 500 meters, how Hong Kong and New York compare on per-capita density, and the unsettling answer to whether all that weight presses the earth down.
What this episode covers
What keeps skyscrapers standing, what limits their height, and does a fully vertical city actually change the geology beneath it? This episode dives into the material science and structural engineering behind the global skyscraper boom — from Bessemer steel and tuned mass dampers to the self-weight problem that caps concrete towers at roughly one mile. Plus: why elevator ropes fail above 500 meters, how Hong Kong and New York compare on per-capita density, and the unsettling answer to whether all that weight presses the earth down.
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How High Can We Really Build?
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